He once ran for 313 yards against San Diego, punished Kentucky Wesleyan for 279, ravaged Morehead State with 238 and shredded Butler with 232. And yet, during an intense period of talent searching, when antennae are pulsating with energy among scouts and general managers in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, Sean Bennett was not so much as a blip on the radar screen.

His name rarely appeared on detailed lists of draft-eligible players, and when it did, it was down near the bottom, resigned to afterthought status. His many rushing highlights might as well have been as dead and buried as the Evansville program that closed up on him.

He barely played on a bad Northwestern team, which probably meant he could spend draft weekend engrossed in his artwork or planning his wedding. The Giants were so unaware of him that they did not even realize they had him down as William Bennett in their player directory.

What began as a spark and continued on as a flash climaxed with a stunning glow, as Bennett, once an unknown, was selected on Sunday by the Giants with their fourth-round pick, making the 6-1, 222-pound running back the most improbable newcomer on a team determined to add an offensive impact player. He will be forced to compete in a crowded backfield, but after coming from where he has to get here, the odds seem to favor Bennett making a name for himself with the Giants. *Bennett’s path to the Giants took so many unscheduled twists and turns it often appeared he would never reach his destination. A star athlete in his hometown of Evansville, Ind., Bennett attended Illinois on a baseball scholarship but in two years as a part-time outfielder, he hit .120. He returned home, enrolled at the school two miles away from his parents’ house and proceeded to become a small-college sensation, with two-season rushing totals of 2,856 yards and 39 touchdowns, both school records.

Last spring, as Bennett was preparing for his senior season, Evansville dropped its football program. He quickly made copies of the coaches’ game tapes, turning them into a highlight film of his career, and sent to various colleges. He received 20 offers and as an academic All-America opted for Northwestern, where he was promised to get a shot at tailback.

Instead, Bennett was moved to fullback and then was used mostly as a pass receiver, as the coaching staff was not comfortable turning the offense over to a senior transfer who had never before played in the Big Ten. He carried the ball only 32 times all season for 160 yards, while two underclassmen ahead of him struggled for yards on a team that finished 3-9.

”I thought I was better than the other two backs,” he said.

But he never complained.

”He was like a man playing against boys at Evansville, and he was worth a shot for us,” said John Wristen, the running-backs coach at Northwestern who followed Gary Barnett to Colorado after the staff was fired following last season. ”I don’t know whether we used him properly. I felt bad the whole time. He probably got screwed in this whole deal but there wasn’t one word said.” *The Giants were onto Bennett before the rest of the pack but still incredibly late, considering how soon draft research commences. In early March, Accorsi received a tape from agent Mark Bartelstein featuring a player Accorsi never heard of.

”This happens 50 times a draft,” Accorsi said. ”99.9 percent of these late developers just don’t work out.”

The tape so impressed Accorsi that he gave it to Marv Sunderland, the Giants’ director of player personnel, and then distributed it to three scouts, including Jerry Shay.

”Man, about 10 minutes into the tape I said, ‘Hey, this guy’s got something to him,”’ Shay said. ”It was better than the typical highlight tape.”

Greg Gabriel, the director of player development, was dispatched to Evanston, Ill., where he put Bennett through the Giants’ box drill and sent back a glowing report. The Giants believed they had a real sleeper all to themselves.

But a few days later, on March 10, Bennett squeezed his way into the Northwestern Pro Day, and nearly every NFL team was on hand to take a look at two hot prospects, linebacker Barry Gardner and receiver D’Wayne Bates. As a virtual unknown, Bennett realized he had to do something extraordinary to get himself noticed.

When it came time to run the 40, Bennett lined up and ran a 4.45. ”I had an awesome workout,” Bennett said. ”From that day, I don’t think I was that much of a secret any more.”

The secret was out. Bill Parcells rushed to fly him in for a visit to the Jets’ complex at Hofstra. The Redskins were hot on his trail and the Vikings were studying him hard.

The Giants targeted Bennett as someone they wanted to select on the second day of the draft, certainly no higher than the fifth round. Accorsi, though, heard Bennett might go sooner and did not want to play this too cute. Even though he felt the fourth round was too high for Bennett, he didn’t want to risk losing him. Bennett became the 112th player selected, the 12th running back to go off the board.